PLASTIC CAP FOR DISPENSING LIQUIDS

Abstract: The invention is a plastic cap for dispensing liquids to be connected to the neck of a deformable container and includes a main body (2) having a first outer wall (3) that can be assembled to the neck (5) of the container and is coaxial with respect to a second wall (6) that can be introduced inside the neck of the container, said main body having a generally cylindrical part (12) that is hollow and provided with fins (14) for fastening a suction pipe (15) for drawing the liquid out of the container, and with a non-axial outlet (13) for the liquid, said body being provided in its front part with a hook (9) placed near the perimetrical edge of said body, suitable for cooperating with a corresponding projection of the cover, and with a cover (20) connected with said main body (2) by means of a hinge (11), said cover having a hollow cylindrical element (21) in the middle and being provided, in correspondence with its inner edge, with a hook-shaped projection (10) cooperating with the corresponding hook (9) of the main body; said cap being characterized in that in said main body (2), on the base surface where the hook (9) is fixed and under said hook (9), there is a hole (8) through which the male of the mould passes during the moulding of the cap with thermoplastic material.

Description: PLASTIC CAP FOR DISPENSING LIQUIDS DESCRIPTION The invention is a plastic cap particularly suitable for dispensing liquids, which can be connected to the neck of a deformable container. We are referring in particular to plastic caps in which an outflow duct is connected with a pipe for drawing the liquid from the bottom of the container. The known types of plastic caps for dispensing liquids substantially have a body connected with the neck of the container, said body being provided with a central part that projects outwards and is connected to a pipe drawing out the liquid. These caps are also provided with a cover connected with the central body of the cap by means of a hook and they can be separated from said central body by deforming the container with the pressure of the fingers. According to the known technique, this sort of caps is carried out by means of a complex mould, in order to obtain the tooth that belongs to the body of the cap and sticks out of the base of said body upwards, in such a way as to cooperate with a corresponding hook situated on the cover. Both the patents DE 3632057-C2 and the patent FR 2 591 571 concern a plastic cap for dispensing liquids in which the cover closes against that part of the cap that is fixed to the bottle by means of a hook belonging to said part. The drawing regarding the practical application of the patent clearly shows that the hook is obtained by means of a mould with at least a carriage moving transversally with respect to the opening and closing direction of the mould. A purpose of the invention is to obtain a cap structured so that it can be carried out by means of a very simple mould without transversal carriages. Another purpose to be reached is that the cap of the invention has a sealing capacity at least equivalent to that of the caps of the same kind known up to now. All the purposes mentioned above and others that will be bette r hig h lighted below, have been achieved by a plastic cap for dispensing liquids to be connected to the neck of a deformable container, which according to the fi rst claim comprises: - a main body having a first substantially cylind rical outer wall that can be screwed onto the neck of the container and is coaxial with respect to a second cylindrical wall introduced into the neck of the containe r, said main body having , in the middle , a generally cylind rical hollow part projecting upwards and provided with fins for fastening a suction pipe suitable for drawing the liquid out of the containe r, the cylindrical hollow part having a lateral outlet for f lowing the liquid , said main body being provided in the front of the cap with a hook placed approximately near the perimetrical edge of said body and suitable for coope rating with the corresponding projection positioned on a cover; - a cove r connected by means of an elastic hinge to said main body, said cover being provided in the middle with a hollow cylindrical element housing the cylindrical part of said main body and having , in correspondence with its inner edge, a hook-shaped projection suitable for coope rating with the corresponding projection of the main body, the invention being characte rized in that, at the base of the hook of said main body, there is a hole th roug h which the mou ld male passes du ring the mou lding , said male moving in accordance with the axis of said main body . Advantageously, according to the invention , due to the presence of a hole in the cap there is the possibi lity of mou lding the cap by means of a substantially very simple mou ld without carriages, since , as it wi ll be observed late r on , the mou lding takes place by di rect clamping with a sing le movement of the mou ld along its on ly clamping axis . Even with a hole at the end of the edge of the cap the outflow of the liquid is prevented since the cap seal with respect to the neck of the container is g uaranteed both by the cylindrical wall resting on the inner edge of the neck and by a ring- projection resting on the plane of the upper edge of the container neck. In such a way at least two seals are obtained, besides the outer one due to the screwing of the cap onto the neck, and therefore the presence of the hole on the cap don't compromise the expected sealing effect. Further distinctive features and peculiarities will be better highlighted in the description of a practical application among many of the invention in question, illustrated in the attached tables: - Figure 1 shows a view of the cap that is the object of the invention; - Figure 2 shows a section of the cap object of the invention when closed; - Figure 3 shows a section of the cap object of the invention with open cover; - Figure 4 shows a top view of the cap object of the invention. With reference to the above-mentioned figures it can be noticed that the cap object of the invention, referred to as a whole by 1, has a main body, referred to as a whole by 2, which has a first substantially cylindrical outer wall 3 and is provided inside with a thread 4 allowing the cap to be screwed onto the neck 5 of the deformable container. The diameter of a second wall, referred to by 6, which is cylindrical, too, and is substantially coaxial with respect to the first outer wall 3, is such as to make it possible to introduce its outer wall into the inner edge of the neck 5, so as to obtain the seal between the main body of the cap and the neck 5 of the container. Another seal is accomplished by a circular projection-shaped ring, referred to by 7; this ring- projection 7 gets in contrast with the plane upper part 51 of the neck of the container 5, as shown in Figure 1. Together with the cylindrical wall 6, this ring-projection 7 contributes to the achievement of the seal between the cap and the neck of the container. It will be noticed later on that this particular double-seal structure ensures that there will be no outflow of liquid, which could have occurred because of the hole on the base surface of the main body. As a matter of fact, as figure 4 shows more clearly, the base surface of the main body 2 has an opening 8 suitable for the passage of the male through the main body 2 when the thermoplastic moulding of the hook 9 takes place. This hook 9 cooperates with the corresponding projection 10 of the wall of the cover 20 when the cover closes on the main body of the cap. In the main body 2, in central position, there is also a generally cylindrical part 12 that projects upwards and has a hole 13 arranged in non-axial position, so that the liquid sprayed through said hole is directed forward with respect to the opening of the container. Inside, the cylindrical part 12 has some fins 14 serving to fasten a suction pipe 15 that draws the liquid from the bottom of the container. The liquid is drawn out owing to the compression that is obtained by deforming the container itself. The cover, which is connected by means of a hinge 11 made of thermoplastic material, too, and is carried out by moulding together with the main body, has a hollow cylindrical element 21 in the middle, which will house the cylindrical part 12 of the main body when the cover closes on the main body itself. Further, it can be noticed that the upper back wall 22 of the cover 20 is concave and its concave part faces outwards. More precisely, said wall 22 is part of a cylindrical surface of a cylinder, the horizontal axis of which is perpendicular to the cap axis. This device allows the cover 20 to deform stretching out forwards and to separate from the hook 9 when compression is exerted on the middle of the cover with the fingers of one hand opposite to each other, especially in the two knurled sections 23, only one of which is shown in Figure 1. With reference to figure 3, it is clear that the cap object of the invention can be carried out by moulding it with thermoplastic material by means of a single mould provided with only one male part and one female part, since the hook 9 can be carried out with a projection of the male reaching the lower part of the horizontal wall of said hook, without making undercuts owing to the presence of the hole 8. The simplification of the mould obviously results also in a reduction of the cost of the cap itself. It has been observed that this simplification in itself does not absolutely compromise the sealing characteristics of said cap, since the second cylindrical wall 6 and the ring- projection 7, along with the thread 4, ensure the seal.

Claims: CLAIMS 1) Plastic cap for dispensing liquids to be connected to the neck of a deformable container and comprising: - a main body (2) having a first substantially cylindrical outer wall (3) connected to the neck (5) of the container and coaxial with respect to a second cylindrical wall (6) introduced inside the neck of the container, said main body being provided in the middle with a generally hollow cylindrical part (12), projecting upwards said walls (3,6) provided with fins (14) for fastening a suction pipe (15) for drawing the liquid out of the container, and having a non-axial outlet (13) for the liquid, said main body being provided in the front part of the cap with a hook (9) placed approximately near the perimetrical edge of said body and projecting from the base surface of said main body, suitable for cooperating with a corresponding projection of a cover; - a cover (20) connected with said main body (2) by means of an elastic hinge (11), said cover having a hollow cylindrical element (21) housing the cylindrical part (12) of said main body, when said cover is closed, and having, in its inside edge, a hook-shaped projection (10) cooperating with the corresponding hook (9) of the main body, characterized in that said main body (2), in correspondence with the base surface where the hook (9) is fixed and under said hook, presents a hole (8) through which the mould male passes during the moulding of the cap with thermoplastic material, said male moving in the direction of the axis of said main body. 2) Cap according to claim 1), characterized in that the main body (2) and the cover (20) are carried out in a single piece by means of moulding of thermoplastic material. 3) Cap according to claim 1) or 2), characterized in that the main body has a ring-projection (7) between the first outer wall (3) and the second cylindrical wall (6), said projection (7) matching the upper surface (51) of the edge of the container in order to seal the cap and against the edge of the container. 4) Cap according to each one of the preceding claims 1), characterized in that the back upper surface (22) of the cover (20) is concave and its concave part faces outwards, said surface being part of a cylindrical surface of a cylinder, the main axis of which is perpendicular to the cap axis.

Inventors: SANTAGIULIANA EVANS, SANTAGIULIANA, EVANS
Applicants: SANTAGIULIANA EVANS, TAPLAST SRL, SANTAGIULIANA, EVANS, TAPLAST S.R.L.
Application year: 1994
Main classification: B65D47
IPC codes: B65D47, B65D50